Who is Ozzy Osbourne's first wife Thelma Riley? What we know about the Black Sabbath rocker's marriage before Sharon

Scottish Sun

4 days ago

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THE marriage of Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne was as iconic as his career, but many do not know he was married before.
The Prince of Darkness had a whole family before he met Sharon and became the infamous Osbourne family everyone knows today.
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Ozzy Osbourne was married before he met sharon.
Credit: Getty - Contributor
While Sharon has become an industry mogul and tele personality in her own right, a lot less is known about the life of Ozzy's first wife.
And so, since the announcement of the Black Sabbath frontman's death on July 22 2025, many have been wondering about the details of his first marriage.
Who is Thelma Riley?
Thelma Riley was Ozzy Osbourne's first wife.
The pair met in the 1960s while on a night out, and at the time, Osbourne was still establishing his career in music, while Riley was a teacher.
They eventually tied the knot in 1971, amid the rise in prominence of Black Sabbath in the music scene.
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Thelma Riley met Ozzy Osbourne in 1960
Osbourne met Sharon Arden, whom he would eventually fall head over heels for, while her father was Black Sabbath's agent in 1979.
Ozzy admitted in interviews that he was not the perfect husband or father during his marriage to Riley.
His skyrocketing fame, coupled with heavy drinking and drug use, resulted in a tumultuous and unstable home life.
The couple were married for 11 years before they split in 1982.
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In his autobiography, Ozzy referred to their marriage as a 'mistake', confessing he wasn't present and was consumed by his addictions.
Since their divorce, the now 71-year-old has stayed relatively out of the limelight.
How many children did Ozzy Osbourne and Thelma have?
Despite allegedly contributing to a tumultuous home life, Osbourne and Riley shared three children together, who now live on as a memory of the Prince of Darkness.
Before meeting Osbourne, Riley already had a son.
Riley had a five-year-old son when she met Osbourne, called Elliot, from a previous relationship, whom Osbourne later adopted.
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Ozzy Osbourne had two biological children with Thelma Riley: Jessica and Louis.
Credit: Getty
Jessica Osbourne was born in 1972, one year after the couple tied the knot.
They then had a son called Louis, who was born in 1975.
Jessica has carved out her career in the entertainment industry, reportedly as a Broadway performer in New York.
She has three children, and so was the first of Osbourne's six children (including the three he had with Sharon) to give him a grandchild.
Jessica has two daughters, Isabelle and Kitty, and a son called Harry.
Louis now works as a DJ and married actress Louise Lennon in 2004.
Osbourne was unable to attend his first son's wedding, following a major quad bike accident which left him suffering from major injuries.
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Eldest son, Louis (right), pictured with his half-siblings at father's Hollywood Walk of Fame unveiling.
Credit: AP
Not much is known about Elliot Kingsley as he tends to keep out of the spotlight with no public social media accounts.
In the 2011 documentary film God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, produced by his son Jack, Ozzy revealed that he could not even remember when Louis and Jessica were born, reported MailOnline.
Louis has since opened up about what life was like growing up with a father with addictions.